You've Got a Friend
by MajinCammy
Summary: Teddy doesn't want to celebrate anything after the death of her husband, but Arizona isn't about to let her go down with the ship.


Title: You've Got a Friend  
>Pairing: ArizonaTeddy friendship  
>Rating: PG<br>Summary: Teddy doesn't want to celebrate anything after the death of her husband, but Arizona isn't about to let her go down with the ship.  
>Disclaimer: I own nothing. I do not intend to profit in any way, shape or form by posting this story. It's for fun, nothing more, and nothing less.<p>

A/N: Thanks to jj_280391 for beta'ing the story and thanks to strandedinaber for talking to me and pretty much pushing my creative forces to get this out. ;d

The knocking at the door was incessant, overly perky, and made Teddy want to crawl further under her covers and pretend she was dead…

Dead like her husband.

Remembering her husband was dead just caused more tears to pool in her eyes and drop to the pillow below her cheek. It's been weeks, but the wound was still fresh causing every morning she awoke to rip the scab anew. Though waking each morning there was also a moment… a moment when she forgot that he was gone and everything was fine and as it should be. Teddy slept only for those moments. And sleep she did. Her friends said she was depressed and the depression was making her tired and listless, but no, Teddy slept to feel like Henry was still alive and with her. And when that moment was gone, she longed to fall asleep again, the vicious cycle on a permanent repeat in her heart and mind.

"Teddy! I know you're in there and we have a lot of work to do!" a disjointed voice sounded in between the poundings.

"Go away, Arizona!" Teddy groaned and closed her eyes again, the motion of her lids causing more tears to fall against the pillow.

"You promised!" the voice yelled and then the pounding of that door in that perky rhythm happened again.

"No, ArI-zOn-A," Teddy said with as much indignation as she could muster as she sat up and whipped the cover from over her head, "You put words in my mouth and promised yourself a whole bunch of things while I stood there with a stupid look on my face pondering which place in hell you were sent from to stalk me!"

"That's not a nice way to talk to your best friend, Theodora," she could hear the pout from the other side of the door.

"Please, just go away, Arizona. I don't really have anything to be thankful for anyway…" Teddy's words were a sigh and when there was no immediate response from the door, she wondered if Arizona even heard her say them.

"I felt the same way after my brother died, Teddy." She heard some shuffling on the other side of the door before Arizona spoke again, "It took me a long time to really feel like living was worthwhile in a world where my brother no longer existed." There was a long sigh and a sniffle, "Come on, Teddy… you were there, in the battlefield. You lost soldiers, friends, brothers and sisters in the field, but you moved on and worked to save the next injured guy. I know it's not the same thing, but think about Henry and how he'd want to spice the turkey and set up the table. We're going to honor him, because he was an honorable man, your good man in a storm. But now that the storm is over your head, I need fix you. And if I can't, then no one can, so yeah, you're gonna get your ass out of bed and open this door and we're gonna cook a feast." There was a loud thump and she deduced that Arizona kicked the door to help the impact of her words sink in.

Teddy flopped back against the pillows in her bed and thought about Arizona's words. She did lose a lot of friends in the war and she watched a lot of good people die, but this wasn't the same. None of those people were actually family. And Teddy didn't really have family anymore, beside Owen. He was like a brother now, once she got over the awkward feelings of following him around like a lost puppy. Her parents were dead, she was an only child, and Henry was it for her. It started off as just helping the guy out, but that lead to something amazing; something beautiful that she truly hadn't felt before. She really loved him and it wasn't the same feelings she had for her first boyfriend, or the guy she dated while in the field, or even Owen and the relationship they carved out together. This had felt different and losing that feeling has left her feeling incomplete, a hole in her chest, a wound that she wasn't sure would ever really close.

"Dammit, Teddy, don't make me pull out the big guns!" Teddy suddenly jumped up and scrambled to get some real pants on and throw a shirt over her tank top. The last time Arizona said that to Teddy, they were both drunk off their asses and Arizona dragged her onto Joe's bar, where they both serenaded their significant others with the most off key version of _"Hopelessly Devoted to You"_. That's when she found out that she and Arizona had an intense love for the movie version of Grease and they had both dressed up as Sandy for Halloween in the past.

She ran out of her bedroom and slipped slightly which caused her slide into the door with a thud. She ripped the door open and narrowed her eyes at Arizona, "No, there will be no pulling out of the big guns."

Arizona stood there and shrugged and then she bent over and picked up three of the five bags she had with her. Teddy quickly moved aside so that Arizona could walk in. She picked up the other bags and kicked the door shut, then followed Arizona into her kitchen. "It got you out of bed." Arizona grinned and she started removing things from the bags.

"I'd really rather sleep…" Teddy said softly.

"I know you do, honestly. I had that phase just after Tim died." Arizona put her hand on Teddy's shoulder and squeezed gently. Then she turned back to the supplies and started unloaded them onto the counters. "I know there's nothing I can say right now to make you feel better, which is why we're going into distraction mode." She grinned her cocky and perky grin and held up a bottle of white wine, "Why don't you crack this baby open and pour us a couple of glasses?"

"White wine? You know I'm more of a red wine woman…" Teddy said absent mindedly as she put the bottle on the counter and started digging for a bottle opener.

"Yes, you and Callie both, it must be something that goes with the badass." Arizona said through a sigh.

"Something happen with Callie?" Teddy asked as she poured two glasses and then handed one to Arizona.

"She didn't agree with cooking therapy and seemed a little angry when she wasn't invited to help. I think she wanted to cook everything this year and my plans pretty much ruined hers." She shrugged slightly and took a sip of the wine, "Some things are more important. And I didn't invite her because she'd be insisting on doing everything, you wouldn't be distracted at all, I'd be drunk before the turkey hit the oven…"

Teddy laughed and took a sip of the wine, "That would make this Thanksgiving memorable, wouldn't it?"

"If by memorable, you mean terribly sad and pathetic with a side of me talking to myself and saying really ridiculous things while trying to undress Callie in front of everyone, then yeah, memorable," she said with a shrug again, but there was a small smile on her lips.

"Oh, I remember when you got a little buzzed at Cristina's party and you were practically undressing Callie with your eyes the whole night. You were predatory, it was kind of scary." Teddy laughed as she started to look through all the things Arizona brought.

"Oh…" Arizona looked up and stared off into the distance, "That was a good night… A _really _good night." They both laughed.

"Really, Arizona? Did you think I had nothing here? Is the kitchen sink still in your car?" Teddy held up a package of common kitchen utensils in one hand and a turkey baster in the other.

"I came prepared, don't judge." She said as she pulled a roasting pan from another bag and placed it next to the oven.

"You are the daughter of a marine." Teddy said and flattened her lips together.

"Yes, sir," Arizona saluted Teddy and then they just broke into a series of giggles.

The two went about setting things up and the kitchen practically turned into an operating room. Everything for the side dishes was put to one side and placed on a tray. The turkey was placed on the center of the room, as though it were on the operating table and all the spices were placed on a tray, in sequential order of when they would be used. The aromatic vegetables which were going to be placed in the cavity of the turkey were placed on the opposite and prepared properly. Everything was set up before the operation began.

"Ready?" Arizona asked as she surveyed the kitchen, proud of her work.

"Are you sure we're not operating here?" Teddy said cheekily.

"Don't discount my methods. I like to be prepared before getting messy." She held up her hand, "Garlic?"

"Garlic." Teddy said as she placed the garlic in Arizona's hand with a sharp laugh. "You know, I kind of like having the holidays away from work, yet here I am, in my own kitchen and feeling as though I'm in an OR. How does Callie put up with you?"

"Oh hush." Arizona said, but she had the decency to blush.

"Are you like this with Sofia? Your daughter will have complex before she's four." Teddy laughed again as they continued to prepare the turkey.

"Honestly, I try to be…" Arizona said with a huff, "But really, it's virtually impossible to do when you share a space with one, Calliope Torres. She is the queen of organized messes and she yells at me when I clean anything of hers up, because then she can't find anything, or so she claims. I think she just likes playing with me and getting me angry so things will be a little rougher in bed, because that's where those arguments always end up." Arizona was barely paying attention to what she was saying, due to being completely honed into her current operation: Thanksgiving Turkey.

"Well, there are some mental images I could've done without," Teddy said with a grin.

Arizona looked up at Teddy and her mouth dropped open," Oh god, did I really say that?" She started giggling nervously, "Don't tell Calliope…"

"Why not? She'd probably get a kick out of the fact you share anything that personal with me, especially after all the crap you gave her about being so personal with Mark." Teddy said as she handed Arizona a bottle of soap, instead of the bottle of wine she asked for.

Arizona accepted said bottle while she shook her head, "She'd never let me hear the end of it." She said with a frown as she held the bottle up. "Teddy, let's keep our eyes on the prize, okay? I almost washed the turkey instead of letting it drown its sorrows about being eaten with some wine."

Teddy started cracking up. She was full out laughing and bent over slightly, with one hand on the counter. After a few moments, she stood back up and looked over at Arizona, who was still standing there with a chagrin look on her face while holding the bottle of dish soap and she just lost it again. Arizona followed this time while she put the bottle next to the sink.

Once the laughter was under control, they moved on to the side dishes, preparing them with surgical accuracy. Everything was then loaded and timers were set so that everything would be prepared correctly. The two women started to clean their mess, while talking and sipping on wine. Teddy leaned back against the kitchen counter and took another sip of the wine. Henry would have enjoyed this, cooking and laughing with Arizona. He confided in Teddy that he liked Arizona a lot and then spent the next ten minutes telling Teddy it wasn't because she was a hot blonde and the only hot blonde he was interested in was her.

Those memories caused her to smile and feel warm inside. It wasn't the painful ache that normally sat in her chest since his death. It was pleasant and reminded her of why she loved him so much. And although she missed him fiercely, it felt like he was in the room with them, sharing in the moment. She looked up at Arizona, who was humming to herself as she washed a few dishes, and smiled brightly. Arizona was right, she's an awesome friend.

"Thank you, Arizona," she said softly and then took another sip of the wine.

Arizona looked over her shoulder and smiled smugly, "I told you, I'm an awesome friend." She turned back to the dishes.

"You really are. I was so downtrodden with grief. I thought that this holiday and Christmas were just going to be unbearable, trying to get through them without him." She took a moment and licked her lips, savoring the taste of the wine for a moment, "But you reminded me that although he's not here physically, he's still here and it doesn't have to be painful."

Arizona smiled and nodded, "The pain never goes away, Teddy, but it fades over time. It becomes easier to live without him; easier to breathe and to open yourself up to heartache again, but it never goes away. It's just something you live with, but you have to continue to live. He wouldn't want you to be defeated. It took me a long time to accept that, honestly. That Tim would want me to live and be happy, but that was because I'm as stubborn as a mule. His words, not mine." They both chuckled.

"I just want you to know I'm here for you. Every step of the way. I wish I had someone when Tim died, but it was just me and my parents. My father turned inward and my mother couldn't talk about it, talk about him. I had to keep them together and it took a long time before I really was able to mourn the loss of my brother. That's why I'm determined to be here for you, in whatever capacity you need me, even if it's just washing the turkey." She smirked when Teddy laughed.

"Thank you again." She put her glass down and crossed the kitchen to Arizona and wrapped her in a warm hug.

"Anytime, sweetie," Arizona said softly and rubbed Teddy's back as they hugged one another.

When the broke apart Teddy grinned and made her way to a cabinet and started to pull out some fancy dinnerware, "Alright, time to set the table and get things ready for our guests."

"Yes, sir." Arizona saluted and they laughed again.

Despite Henry not being there, Teddy felt him everywhere. It made her feel good. And despite the loss and the hole she felt in her heart, she felt complete. She would never be able to thank Arizona enough for making that Thanksgiving one of her most special ever.


End file.
